Imaginuity has successfully developed and launched a virtual shopper named Cindy for JLL Retail Property Management at 13 shopping centers across the country. Created to be a consistent and replicable virtual spokesperson online, Cindy embodies multi-ethnic characteristics designed to resonate across geographically dispersed shopping centers. As an industry first, she is an extension of Imaginuity’s Pylot® platform that creates beautiful, human-centered website experiences. Cindy’s unique personality and presence helps make every shopping center’s website a go-to resource for fashion and trend information.
The Dallas agency’s AI Lab developed Cindy in partnership with The Dealey Group, lead brand agency for many of JLL’s managed shopping center properties. The Dealey Group took the lead on creative and content around the vision of making Cindy a “virtual shopping bestie” while Imaginuity brought her to life with a complex mix of generative AI tools driven by a proprietary recipe of procedures, prompts and modeling. Informed by JLL’s shopping center customer profiles, Cindy was created to feel authentic, relatable, and work in different market geographies, from small to large, each with different shopper demographics and psychographic characteristics.
“We carefully crafted her appearance, focusing on every detail from her glowing complexion to her chic hairstyle, ensuring she’s easily recognizable across all platforms,” said Ashlyn Booth, EVP and Director of Property Marketing for JLL. “But it’s not just her looks that make Cindy stand out – it’s her vibrant personality! With her infectious voice and charming manner, she’s here to spill the tea on all things fashion and trends. Think of her as your ultimate style guru, always ready to dish out the hottest info while rocking everything from cozy athleisure to the latest seasonal must-haves.”
Cindy was brought to market through a strategic, multi-platform social campaign. One month post launch, year-over-year online website sessions across participating shopping centers has increased by 500 percent, new site users by more than 1000 percent and page views by nearly 500 percent.
“Cindy is now an integral part of each center’s website presence and social media strategy, giving these important platforms a fresh new voice and personality that will build engagement with shoppers,” said Corbett Guest, President and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for Imaginuity. “We have been developing innovative marketing technology solutions for shopping centers for over 20 years. Our Pylot platform enables centers to launch highly scalable websites fast and Cindy will enhance the user experience and drive engagement of these sites through timely content focused on the latest trends, deals, and shopping center goings-on.”
Imaginuity touches every part of the customer journey and has dedicated a significant 30 percent of the agency’s workforce to technology roles, reimagining ways to make marketing smarter through data, technology, and insights. Its AI Lab pulls talent from across the company to help clients be more innovative with a focus on improving development, engagement, and outcomes. The agency’s initial AI activation was last summer, designed to create buzz and excitement at a client’s mid-year marketing summit. In addition to Cindy, the agency is also working on similar generative AI initiatives for two other national consumer brands.
Editor’s Note: Meet Cindy here.
